BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – According to the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, the Ukrainian armed forces urgently need new ammunition for the defensive fight against Russia. “Ukraine is running out of bullets,” said Reinsalu on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Estonia has been promoting a European procurement program for some time. According to the Foreign Minister, this involves artillery ammunition with a caliber of 155 millimeters. The aim is to initially deliver one million artillery shells. Reinsalu put the costs at four billion euros.
“Today we have the situation that Russia uses as many projectiles in one day as the EU produces in one month,” added the minister. The current production capacities of the European defense industry are “absolutely unacceptable”. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said everything would be done to provide sufficient ammunition. For example, money from the so-called European Peace Facility can be used for a joint purchase.
This is a financing instrument through which the EU already supplies arms and equipment and supports the training of the Ukrainian armed forces. So far, 3.6 billion euros have been released. According to Borrell, Russia is currently firing around 50,000 artillery shells a day in the war against Ukraine. “Ukraine must have the same ability,” he said.
/aha/DP/mis
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
No data